Rebecca M. Douglass, Author

I'm most of a day late with my Wednesday post for the simple reason that I lost track of the days again. This is a nice problem to have, especially as it's because I'm back on the road again, this time hanging in Maine with a friend, enjoying the fall colors (but that overnight flight cost me a day, somehow. Not sure how that worked...). In any case, it's time for my annual (more or less) post about preparing for NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) and plotting vs. pantsing. In so many aspects of my life, I like to fly by the seat of my pants. On my recent road trip, I seldom knew where I would stop until I got there. Even while backpacking in the Sawtooth Mountains of Idaho, I didn't try to stick too closely to a plan, going instead where it seemed to make sense given the weather (on other sorts of trips, I do like to know exactly where I'm going and why, but that's a different story). We've been here before, though. Writing a mystery with no plan ...

  Jemima Pett has been hosting the SpaceTime Reading Challenge for a few years now, and I keep signing up and then losing track. If you are a SF fan, like a little mind-bending time travel now and then, or just want to find out if you do, sign up and jump in. I recommend following jemimapett.com for ideas about what to read--I've gotten a lot of good tips from her reviews! Sign up here --it's never too late. The SpaceTime Reading Challenge #spacetimereads You can read any book that is from the science fiction/time-travel genres. Any sub-genres are welcome as long as they incorporate one of these genres.  Non-fiction is not included in this challenge. You don’t need a blog to participate but you do need a place to post your reviews (even one-liners) to link up. (blog, Goodreads, booklikes, shelfari, etc.) Make a goal post and link it back here with your goal for this challenge. Books need to be novellas or novels, although anthologies count if they meet the pa...

Yesterday I played hooky from my writing and went for a little hike to see the fall colors. The weather gods granted us a perfect day. I picked up my brother-in-law at 7 a.m. It was barely light at that hour, as fog had settled on Seattle. I wondered if we were crazy, but figured the vine maple and other colorful vegetation would still be visible, even if we didn't get good views. After an hour's drive, we started up the Granite Peak trail at 8:20 a.m. It was chilly enough I wore a sweatshirt for at least the first 15 minutes of the hike.  Sun and mist. The first visual reward came within minutes of the start. We reached the sun and the color about the same time. The morning dew still shone on the leaves. After a couple of miles--and a couple of thousand feet of climbing--we broke out pretty much above tree line. Here, the color came from huckleberries (mountain blueberries) and other alpine shrubs. Before the final climb, we got a pleasant surprise--not just Mt. Rainier, but a...

It's the first Wednesday of the month, and that means it's time for our IWSG post!       Why? The IWSG is here to share and encourage, to offer a place for authors to admit their insecurities and offer help and support to each other. How? The official IWSG posting day is the first Wednesday of every month. Hop around the list and see who has worries, triumphs, and news to share.  Every month we have an optional question to spark discussion.  Our motto:  Let’s rock the neurotic writing world! Our Twitter handle is @TheIWSG and hashtag is #IWSG. The awesome co-hosts for the October 4   posting of the IWSG are  Natalie Aguirre,   Kim Lajevardi,   Debs Carey,   Gwen Gardner,   Patricia Josephine,  and, well, ME! October 4 question: The topic of AI writing has been heavily debated across the world. According to various sources, generative AI will assist writers, not replace them. What are your thoughts? I really don't h...

I just didn't have time in my busy travel schedule to read this, though it sounds very promising. I did manage to squeeze out time to get main character Nic Earp to introduce herself and tell how she came into being! Reading, Writing, and Murder (Chocolate Martini Sisters Mystery) by Brenda Whiteside and Joyce Proell About Reading, Writing, and Murder Reading, Writing, and Murder (Chocolate Martini Sisters Mystery) Cozy Mystery 2nd in Series Setting – Wyatt, Arizona (fictitious setting) Independently Published (September 19, 2023) Print length ‏ : ‎ 273 pages Digital ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0C4G6GZLN At the writers’ conference, murder tops the program. Aspiring mystery author Emma Banefield and travel writer Nicole Earp are excited to attend a writers’ conference during their latest sisters’ getaway. Nic’s birthday should be all about relaxation, writing, and a chocolate martini to toast another trip around the sun, but the climate at the gathering rumbles like a sudden dese...

  The #WritePhoto challenge is a weekly bloghop challenge where KL Caley posts a photo on Thursday and you have until Tuesday to write and post a story. I got started on this one and can't seem to find the ending! Visit the challenge page to join in or to see what others do with the prompt. I'm running a week behind with the pictures, but that's pretty much how I roll. For those who haven't read the others, you can find the story in pieces: Parts I to III , Part IV, Part V , Part VI ,  Part VII , Part VIII,  Part IX , and Part X .  Or you can go with the simple summary: James Campbell and his rag-tag defenders of a ruined castle have defeated and driven off the aliens who have conquered most of the Earth. Now they have moved over the mountains to the sea, to join forces with more rebels and get into shelter before winter sets in. K L Caley's photo used to inspire the story.   Part XI :  Headquarters   “This is the plac...

For the moment, I've lit back at home, with a lot of story thoughts and ideas circulating in my brain, and the rainy weather that encourages me to stay at home and work. More wonderfully, my books are here! Click on the image and pick your favorite store (I hope). If you want a signed paperback, contact me . In other news, the recent trip generated 1330 photos to be sorted, culled, and edited. Not that I was done with the 500+ from my August backpacking trip. So I have plenty to do, but will share a couple more photos here to prove I haven't forgotten about blogging. Hoping I can finish another installment in my Scots vs Aliens serial for Friday, too! Corn lily at the end of a hard season. This one's for those who wonder what we do when we backpack. We hike, we fuss with our camp set-up, and we eat. And take far too many photos. See you Friday, as I get back to a regular posting schedule! ©Rebecca M. Douglass, 2023  As always, please ask permission to use any photos or text...